safe and sound
by SeraSkunk
Summary: Cronus comes back home after his girlfriend cheated on him. Kankri is having family issues. he works part time and goes to a local university. Cronus works with Kankri and they make a deal to get Kankri away from his abusive father. does everything work out? or will it end as tragically as his best friend's death? (Kankri is not 'in character' cause that was boring!)
1. Chapter 1

I was out of breath, so much for not being late to work. I pulled on my sweater and ran out to the car. College and work was beginning to stress me out. I was gonna ask for less hours a week when I finished my four hour shift. I got close to fifteen dollars per hour, but with how much college was adding to my normal work load I couldn't keep up the hours I currently had. I started the ignition and drove to work. I clocked in and started to my job as a night stocker at a pet store. It was ten o clock and I figured if I finished my shift I could get back home by two-thirty. I didn't have to go to school until eleven that morning. As long as I didn't get distracted, I would be fine.

"Kankri!" I turned and saw my manager walking towards me with the strangest looking character, handsome as he was. "this is Cronus he just started working here and I figured you could show him the ropes"

"yeah, sure I guess" I stood and held my hand out to him. "hello, my name is Kankri. It's a pleasure to meet you"

"likewise" his voice was deep with an accent that sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. he shook my hand. He had a firm grip.

"I also figured you could use some help with the big bags of food"

"I can handle them myself, but thank you for your concern" I looked back at Cronus. Strange name for someone who looked like _him_. His hair was jet black and slicked back with hair product. His horns were like lightning bolts that protruded from his head. He was obviously a seadweller. His fins were the first things I noticed, after all. His eyes were a slightly violet colour. He was muscular and fit, no doubt about that. He wore a black leather jacket over what looked like a tattered shirt bearing what I could only assume was his sign. He had a similar sign scarred into his forehead above his right eyebrow. His black pants fit nicely to his legs and the legs were tucked into some black leather boots. I could only assume he was trying to pull off the greaser look, which he did. Quite nicely, if I may say so myself. "so let me show you what we're going to be working on today"

I walked him over to the cat foods and told him that we were going to be putting the new catfood on the top area, then I walked him over to the cart holding what was needed to be stocked. I had him wheel it back to where we were at and ran to find me a step ladder. I walked back to where he was and set the step ladder in front of the area of the brand and type of food we had received. I climbed up and started pulling the bags of food to the edge and had Cronus lower them to the ground separate from the new food. He handed me the new bags and I put them up on the top shelf. After a few bags were put up I had him start handing me the older bags, to put up front so we could get rid of them. It was going well until the last bag. I got a text and my phone fell out of my pocket, distracting me enough that I lost my balance and fell off the step ladder. I never hit the ground, but the bag of cat food did. I came to my senses and realized I was staring deep into violet-gray eyes. Suddenly the temperature was very high under my sweater.

"you okay, chief?"

"yes, but do you mind placing my back on my feet?" he slowly sat me upright, and made sure I could stand before releasing me. I reached over and picked up my phone to check the text, and of course it was my younger brother. He always messaged me at the wrong time. I wasn't even going to bother to read it. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and went to finish my shift with Cronus.

"what time do you get off?"

"two if I'm lucky and finish my part"

"well, I think it will be easier with me here don't you think?"

"I don't know possibly not its training its not supposed to go by faster"

"what if we finish before two?"

"then I will go and help someone else until time for me to leave, or I can train you on some other things if needed"

"cool" he was at least six foot seven inches. Over a foot taller than me. At five foot three I came up to his abdomen. His shoes made a heavy noise with each step he took. For someone really tall, he sure did keep pace with me easy. I looked up at him. He had a square jaw line. It suited him very well. From what I could tell, his collar bone poked out prominently. He glanced down at me. I looked forward. My face was turning red, I was sure of it. he was truly attractive, but I couldn't help but feel like an idiot for ogling at him like I have been.

By the time we finished my part, it was almost one in the morning. I was talking to Cronus about some other things for his training that he would need to know, when the manager came up and told us we could leave early. We went to the back and clocked out. Cronus followed me to my car talking about wanting to go eat, but not being sure what he wanted and if there was anything I could recommend.

"there's a nice Greek restaurant a few blocks from here. If I have a long shift I go there for lunch. Theres also a number of cafes in the area that have some pretty good food, if you don't want something big to eat"

"I think I'll just walk home and eat something. Maybe my parents cooked or somethin'. I'm not huge on cafes or Greek foods"

"what do you like to eat?"

"I like burgers and Italian food for the most part"

"there's an olive garden about ten minutes away from here. I pass it everyday going here or to school"

"you're still in school?"

"yeah I'm going to the university here. It's my third year and its really starting to stress me"

"I actually just transferred to the university here. I moved out of my parents house and with my now ex girlfriend. And she was cheatin' on me so I left her and transferred my classes from that college to here. I moved into an apartment a few miles out that way" he pointed towards where I lived "I don't even know why, I don't have a vehicle and my parents live between here and the college"

"so you're not using it? at all?"

"nah, its kinda out of the way. Where do you live?"

"that way I live with my family, but I'm trying to save out to move out. My father is a minister and doesn't agree with my lifestyle 'choices' so needless to say he doesn't consider me his son anymore"

"what kind of lifestyle choice did you make?"

"its not important" I could feel my face heating up again.

"what if, you and I shared the apartment?"

"what?"

"yeah I mean, we go to school together and work together so it would be like car pooling. And you could get away from the father who stopped being a father" it was a good idea, but I don't know how well it would work out. I just met him and he's already inviting me to share an apartment with him. "don't worry, chief, it's a two bedroom apartment" honestly it did make me feel better. "you can even quit if you start feeling uncomfortable" that was another relief. So if it didn't work out I could leave and he wouldn't get mad at me.

"there's no harm in it, so long as you keep your messes cleaned up and I can even help with rent"

"and if you start feeling uncomfortable you can back out anytime"

"sure why not? When would be a good time for me to start moving my stuff in?"

"whenever is good with you, chief"

"I don't work tomorrow so tomorrow after school ill get a moving truck and get my necessities out"

"don't worry about that, my dad runs a moving company, we can get everything tomorrow I can even get you a key made" he held his hand out to me. "deal?" I smiled and shook his hand.

"deal"


	2. Chapter 2

I never thought I could feel worse. I walked across the parking lot at the college my side was on fire. I turned and clicked the button on my car keys to be sure my car was locked. I turned around and ran right into an enormous figure. I fell to the ground and my satchel opened and some books and a couple papers slid out.

"oh gosh I'm so sorry! I don't know what has gotten into me I'm normally very cautious" I looked up to see Cronus holding his hand out to me.

"no problem" I blushed and put my things back into my satchel. I brought myself to my feet ignoring his outstretched hand. He put his hand back down to his side. "hey Kankri are you feeling okay? You look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night"

"that's because I didn't"

"what's up?"

"nothing to worry yourself with" I started walking towards the building. I tried to ignore the pain in my ribcage to no avail. I leaned against the tree by the side of the building.

"man, you look like you're about to pass out" he placed a hand on my back. I threw myself towards the building and hunched over. I could feel my stomach turn with pain. I stifled a scream, but I'm sure it came out as a muffled shriek anyways. I fell to my hands and knees. My stomach twisted and contorted to the pain. I felt something coming up. It burned in my throat. And then it came out of my mouth. I heard the sloshing sound of my vomit hitting the ground. Everything started going dark and I felt hands on my body. I was too weak to do anything but mumble a 'stop. Let go' before everything went black.

"Ka…" was that my name? "Kankri..?" it was my name. I struggled to open my eyes. I felt a hand on my shoulder and jerked away from it. "Kankri calm down. Its just me" I heard his accent. I finally opened my eyes. It took them a moment to adjust. I stared up into deep violet-gray eyes.

"what happened?"

"you passed out" I looked around. I was in a white room. I could see my feet under a white blanket. I saw a sink. And I heard a beeping sound. I looked down at my arm. I had an IV in my arm.

"where am I?" I didn't have to ask I knew where I was. It wasn't the first time I had been in this situation, but I didn't want to believe I was actually here.

"you're in the hospital, kan"

"Kankri" he raised an eyebrow at me. "my name. Its Kankri" he nodded as the nurse walked in.

"welcome back Kankri it's been awhile. I was hoping your situation got better, but it seems you just got better at hiding it"

"don't patronize me. I know what you're going to suggest, Amelia. And it isn't happening"

"as stubborn as always, my dear sweet Kankri"

"it wasn't him"

"never said it was"

"you were thinking of it. how did I even get here?"

"well, your friend was worried about you so he brought you in. we contacted the college. they wont be expecting you for awhile."

"why not?"

"you have three broken ribs and your stomach is bruised"

"so what? It never stopped me from getting my schoolwork done before"

"you were a minor before, and we had to respect your dad's wishes"

"I'm not staying here" I started to sit up and yelled at the pain in my stomach. "I have to get home! You don't understand!"

"no Kankri! _You_ don't understand!" I looked at Amelia. "if you move too much with _this_ you _will_ die"

"I cant let him hurt Karkat" I felt tears in my eyes. "It's not his fault" I bit my lip.

"I know, Kanny, but we can either call CPS with proof of what happened to you and have him taken away or give you custody of him. You either lose your brother or you raise him"

"I cant take care of him. I can't even take care of myself" the tears rolled down my face.

"of course we can, babe" I looked at Cronus. did he really just butt in? He gave me a 'just play along look'. "we're moving in together anyways"

"well there you go, I'll go get a lawyer on the phone and get to work on that" she left the room.

"why did you do that?"

"because I don't want to see you lose your brother and I sure as hell don't want to see you die for him"

"he's my brother. Its what im supposed to do"

"no it isn't. he looks up to you. He doesn't want to see you die"

"I have a question"

"what is it?"

"how's the living situation going to be now?"

"I can sleep on the couch"

"that wouldn't be right"

"I don't mind. I usually slept on the couch at home anyways"

"how come that's so.."

"because it was easier that way for me. My bed want long enough" I almost forgot he was tall. _Almost_. Amelia walked back in with the custody papers for Karkat. I signed in a few places and she left to have them faxed to our new lawyer. Apparently she was the best in the area. Fine with me. A few hours later Karkat was escorted into my hospital room by a couple cops.

"look what you did. God fucking damn it. all because you wanted to be a fucking hero!"

"language, Karkat" he glared at me. He was a senior in high school, there was no way he was going to stop, but he could at least cut back.

"now you sound like Dad"

"I don't sound anything like him Karkat. Trust me" he looked at the seadweller in the room next to my bed.

"who the fuck is _this_?" I glared at Karkat.

"I'm just a friend"

"Kankri doesn't have any friends"

"yes I do! I have Porrim" Karkat looked at me with a surprised and angry look.

"you didn't read my text message last night did you?"

"no, I guess I forgot" Karkat sat on the bed next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Kankri she died last night.." my pulse raced according to the monitor I was hooked up to.

"you better not be lying to me Karkat"

"Kankri as much of an asshole that I am you know I wouldn't lie about this" the monitor's beeping was faster and louder.

"shes not dead"

"yes she is" I could feel tears in my eyes again.

"she.. she cant be.." I bit my lip and ran a hand through my hair. "how.. how did it happen?"

"she was on her way home from work and a drunk driver collided with her. She was killed instantly" he looked down at his hands. "they couldn't recover enough of her to be buried, so they're doing a memorial service for her" the machine tracking my heart rate started beeping extremely loud. Amelia ran into the room.

"Kankri…" everything went quiet. I was conscious. I was awake I could see her talking to me, but my body was frozen. I saw her ushering Karkat and Cronus out of the room. she shone a light into my eyes. She laid me on my back. She injected something into my body. And everything started going dark.


	3. Chapter 3

I walked towards the front door. It was so good to be out of the hospital. My phone rang I looked at it. it was a call from Porrim. I knew Karkat was lying to me. I answered the call.

"hey Porrim what's up?" there was no answer. "Porrim?" I heard heavy breathing.

"kan.." there was a coughing sound. "Kanny…" she sounded unsteady.

"Porrim its so good to hear from you! Karkat said you were dead and-"

"I-I am dead Kankri" I heard the tired squeal and metal crushing metal crushing bones and organs and flesh.

"Porrim?" no answer. "Porrim?!" the line went dead. The phone beeped its dull tone of a dropped call.

Just: beep. Beep. Beep…

beep. A pause. Beep. I opened my eyes. It was a dream. Probably the biggest joke of a dream I've ever had. I looked around my hospital room. there was a recliner in the corner of the room. no one was there I looked over at the chair Cronus was in that was next to my bed. It was also empty. I could hear voices in the hallway. I could hear a woman. And I could hear Cronus. I heard the toilet in my bathroom flush. Karkat opened the door and looked at me. I gave him a weak smile.

"it's about time your ass wakes up. What did she give you cause I could use some of that." He walked towards me and sat in the recliner. He always did when I was in the hospital. It was his thing. Cronus walked in and smiled at me.

"wow, been out for a little over a day Kankri. I wondered if you were ever going to wake up. But good thing you lawyer just showed up" a woman in red sunglasses and a teal and red suit walked in. her sign was sewn into her outfit. She carried a blind woman's cane with a dragon's head at one end. Her horns looked like ice cream cones sticking out of her head. She had the grace of a dragon. Probably likes dragons too.

"kankri I'm your lawyer in the case for custody of Karkat, call me Redglare, everyone else does. I brought some paperwork for you to read over and sign and all that jazz." She handed me a stack of papers. "also Karkat has been appointed to your custody by the court until a court date can be set for trial. That means you are his guardian. You controls who can and cant see him, pick him up for school, and whether you want your father to see him or not" she looked over me, well I say looked, but I wasn't sure if she could actually see me. "judging by your condition I can assume you wouldn't. in that case you can file a restraining order or leave it be. If you leave it be you can call the cops and he will be forced from your property. And we all know how restraining orders work"

"I think I'll do a restraining order"

"okay also has your father ever hit Karkat?"

"not that I know of, I always intervened when I was there" I looked at Karkat. "has he ever hit you when I was gone?"

"yeah he has"

"do you have proof of it recently happening?" Redglare had her attention turned towards Karkat. Still whether or not she could see remains a mystery to me.

"yeah I do" he looked at her and back at me then her again. "do you need to take pictures of it?" she nodded.

"it's the only way to get you away from him for good" they left the room. I turned my attention to Cronus.

"is your lifestyle choice still none of my business?" he asked me with an eyebrow raised.

"please theres no way you didn't know"

"I took a guess when you said he was a minister and im pretty sure im right"

"what makes you think that?"

"just a hunch" I raised my eyebrow at him. "but changing the subject, my dad and I are going to pick up yours and Karkat's stuff today or tomorrow. If that's cool with you"

"I need to be there" he nodded at me. We sat in silence for awhile. "did Amelia say when they will be discharging me?"

"probably going to be a couple days. I've seen those x-rays, I'm surprised one of those ribs didn't puncture your organs, but you seem like a fighter" I scratched my forehead.

"yeah some people say that about me, but mostly with my speech" he sat back some. It felt as if he was studying me.

"you talk real good though. Like most lower on the hemospectrum don't, so it probably throws them off" his stereotyping kind of angered me, but hes done more for me than most others have, so I decided not to say anything. I felt it was more polite that way.

it was late at night. I could hear the machine keeping track of my heart rate. I looked over. Cronus was in my room, but he had taken Karkat to his house so he could ride with Eridan, who just so happened to be his little brother. He seemed to be sleeping soundly. I reached to the other side of my body for my phone. I unlocked it. since I came out I decided it would be best to keep my phone locked. I opened the browser on my phone. I went to the college's website and finished a few papers that needed to be done and started browsing the internet when I was finished. I didn't know what I was browsing for, but I felt like I needed to find something out. I looked up things at random. I tried to jog my memory with no progress.

I typed in a website that sounded familiar. I scrolled through it. I went to one of the unfinished short stories I had started. I scrolled to the last place I had left off. And I started reading to calm my nerves. About thirty minutes into the story it starts getting erotic. I didn't think it was that kind of fiction, but I had read too much to stop now. I continued to read. The sexual exploits of the two characters went on for way longer than I could have anticipated. My bulge was aching, but I couldn't just do that right now. I didn't have a bucket. And I had a friend next to me. I turned my phone screen off and sat it back off to the side. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. It didn't come easy, but eventually I fell asleep


	4. Chapter 4

I had been out of the hospital for a couple days now. We finally got everything moved into our apartment. it was larger than I had expected, but the rent for it was cheaper than I had initially thought. It was more like a small two story rent house. it had an upstairs, downstairs, a backyard and a front yard, a study, the room assigned to me had a balcony in it and there were two full sized bathrooms. I was impressed. I had been stressed out to all hell. Karkat had a room downstairs. The other room, which was supposed to be a study, ended up being big enough for a small room, which Cronus took. Karkat had more stuff than both Cronus and I. I pulled a book off the bookshelf. It had a very unsuspected book cover. You can take one look at me and tell I don't care at all about vampire novels. I flipped through the pages. Yup still intact. I knew my father wouldn't have known. I put it gently back into the bookshelf. It was cleverly hidden among other fiction works. I looked around. Yeah, everything was in a good spot. I cant believe Cronus kept it a relatively same setup to my old room, rather than asking me where he wanted me to have them. The only thing that he did was make sure it wouldn't block any doors or windows. In my old room I had no windows, so I had a lot of artwork hanging around. Now I don't have any wall space for my artwork. I took time to look around my room longer. I opened my closet door. It was pretty large. A walk in closet. It had a full sized mirror on the opposite side of where the door was. All of my clothes were hung up nicely. In order of colour. On the door my red sweater hung on a peg hook. I shut the door and walked over to another one on the opposite wall. I opened it and was greeted with a shared bathroom. On the other side of the bathroom was the door leading to Cronus' room. I closed the door and made a mental note to remember to lock both doors or give Cronus a heads up.

I walked over and sat on my bed. Why was I even bothering going over everything I already had many times? I figured I was subconsciously avoiding Cronus. I don't know why though. I stood back up and walked to the kitchen. I pulled some bacon out of the refrigerator and started making myself lunch. I heard the door open and shut. I looked into the entryway, where Cronus was taking his shoes off.

"hello" he looked up at me and smiled.

"hey"

"how did it go?"

"what school?"

"yeah"

"pretty good" he stood, now wearing socks for footwear and followed me back into the kitchen. "it was pretty boring though"

"nothing new there, but in my case I just can't hear anything. Too many people gossiping"

"seems to be a lot of that happening everywhere" I nodded and got some lettuce and tomatoes out of the refrigerator.

"yeah that's not a surprise. People have strange rituals on earth" I slammed the head of lettuce on the cabinet, and broke the core. I unwrapped the plastic from around it and removed the core. I heard music start playing behind me. It sounded like rock, but wasn't familiar with the artist or genre to know who it was singing. I opened the drawer we kept silverware in and chopped up the lettuce. I quickly finished preparing the sandwich.

"so what have you been up to today?" I turned and noticed how close he was to me. I tried to step back, but was unable. I was as far against the counter as I could be. My face was burning.

"not much of anything" I responded. I was trying as hard as I could to keep my composure. He was so close.

"are you okay?"

"y-yes I'm fine" I lied. I needed him to back up. "I'm a little claustrophobic though, could you give me some space?" he nodded and took a few steps back. I took a deep breath. "thank you" I picked up the plate that held his sandwich and handed it to him. I placed some more bacon on the skillet. Skillet. That's what was playing. Christian rock was playing. I raised an eyebrow. "you listen to Christian rock?" there was a pause, I thought he had left. I turned to look where he was last. He was chewing. He noticed I was watching him, and he nodded. I turned back and flipped the bacon over.

"well I listen to Skillet and Three Days Grace, I'm not a fan of most gospel music. I'm not a Christian you see, so I only listen to it if it is subtle about its.. well religion"

"are you spiritual at all?" it didn't surprise me he didn't listen to it for the sake of it being religious.

"not really, I'm agnostic" I nodded. He was open-minded. He appeared next to me out of the corner of my eye. He washed his plate and placed it in the dishwasher. "I'm going to assume that you're a Christian?" I shook my head. I had never admitted to it before. I always said I was, even though I wasn't. I didn't want to give my dad another reason to beat me. I hear him pull a chair out. I assumed he was sitting at the island. I finished making my sandwich and sat it on the island. I put everything away and poured myself and Cronus a glass of kool-aid. I handed him his glass and sat down.

"I always told people I was, when I lived at home"

"because of your dad?" I nodded and took a bite of the BLT. I looked up at Cronus. He was watching me. Well, more like studying me. As if he thought I was a rare species that he was trying to learn about, or maybe he wanted to know if talking about my father upset me. I swallowed my food.

"yeah, like I said, he's a minister, so it would 'shame him' if he had two atheist children" I shrugged and placed the BLT back on the plate. Suddenly I wasn't hungry. I wasn't really hungry when I started making it. it was something to do, so I made it. "you want the rest of this? I just realized the only reason I made it was because I had nothing better to do" he reached across the table and picked it up. I watched him take a bite right where I had. Did he not care if there was a possibility of me having a disease? I took a drink out of my glass and set it down.

"could you do me a favor?" I looked up at him.

"sure what do you need?"

"there's a cd in my room. its on my nightstand. On the top of the stack there. Could you put it in the cd player in there?" I nodded and got up to go get the cd. I opened the door to his room and noticed he also had a balcony. I walked to his nightstand and picked up the cd. 'Get Scared' it was a pretty good band. I listened to them on occasion. I took note that the balcony connected to my room as well. It was strange I never noticed before. I walked into the living room and replaced the cd just as the last song on the Skillet album finished. I walked back into the kitchen and sat back down with my drink.

"okay one Get Scared album in the stereo" he smiled.

"you like them?"

"I listen to them when I get the chance so, yeah"

"what's your favourite song?"

"depends on my mood. I mostly listened to _Don't You Dare Forget the Sun_ but I'm also partial to _Sarcasm_ "

"my two favorites as well" I smiled. I was happy to know that we could agree on music at the very least. He stood up and washed the other plate and put it in the dishwasher. I couldn't tell if it was actually a habit, or if he was doing it because I asked him to. His room was clean, albeit cluttered. He sat back down in front of me. And took a drink of the kool-aid. He stuck his tongue out. "damn that's sweet" I looked down at my glass. Come to think of it I wasn't even tasting the kool-aid. I took a sip of it again. It WAS sweet. So sweet. It was grape flavored. Barely. Most of what I tasted was sugar.

"Karkat must've made it" I picked it up from the top of the glass. And swirled it around. He had never made kool-aid before. I smiled and took another drink, shuddering at the taste. "I'll be sure to make it from now on or something. Until then I'm going to be nice and drink it, not his fault he never made it before" Cronus took another drink. I noticed he shook slightly. He probably wasn't used to sweets or anything. It didn't surprise me. He sat the glass down and took a deep breath before picking up the glass again and swiftly drinking the rest. Some of the kool-aid dribbled out of the side of his mouth. It rolled down his chin and throat. I could feel myself getting turned on slightly. This never happened before. I watched his Adams apple bob up and down as he drank. I picked up my glass and looked into it. I could see my reflection was a bit flushed. "excuse me I have to get some homework done" I stood with my glass in hand and left to my room. I could not believe I was getting aroused by something like that. He was just drinking. I shut my door and opened my laptop. This was going to be a bad living situation if I couldn't control myself.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's note: I was feeling very awkward with this chapter, so please bear with me. I couldn't focus.**_

Of course I had finished my homework hours ago, the college had called the day before letting me know that they were moving me to online classes only. I was no longer going to the campus. They said it was a precaution 'in case it happened again'. While I was in the hospital Cronus convinced my boss in keeping us 'as a team' so I didn't kill myself with the pet food. Now Cronus and I had the EXACT same schedule. I could smell food downstairs. I heard Cronus and Karkat argue every once in awhile. It always stopped when Cronus would tell Karkat I was working on my homework. I walked out onto the balcony and sat down. I looked down past the railing. We had a pool. It wasn't big. But it was decent size. My stomach growled. It didn't have to remind me every time I was hungry. I looked at my wrist. I had six little swirls connecting into the middle. It looked like an extremely low definition galaxy. Porrim loved space. I got the tattoo a few hours after getting out of the hospital. I hadn't even worn my sweater at all, except when I went to work or to the store. At work, they had me stocking pet toys thanks to going to the hospital with 'near fatal' injuries. I heard the sliding glass door open and turned to see Cronus holding two plates of food. He handed me one and sat next to me, being sure to give me enough space so my 'claustrophobia' didn't act up.

"hang on I forgot to get silverware" he sat his plate on the ground between us and got up to go get us something to eat with. I looked down at my plate. There was a burrito. It was wrapped up similar to the kind of burritos you get at Taco Bell. I wondered what was inside. There was rice next to it and some queso in a small bowl. I picked up the burrito and took a bite of it. I could taste chicken and beef. There was some cheese inside of it. it was mildly spicy, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was really good. I heard the door open and Cronus came and sat down next to me again. He handed me a spoon for the rice. He also handed me a glass of grape kool-aid. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Karkat drank all of what he made, so this is fresh. I made it myself so you don't need to worry" he smiled. I took it and drank some from it. it was sweet, but I could taste the grape.

"thank you" I turned my attention to my food. We ate in silence. When I finished I barely had any queso left. I sat my plate between us and leaned back. We didn't have work tonight. I watched the trees move with the breeze. It was probably close to seventy degrees out here.

"I didn't see you as the type to be into vampire novels" I looked over at him. He was smiling and looking forward. Did he know what it really was? "it sounded interesting" I blushed slightly.

"I have to be in the mood to read it. I'm not even halfway done with it" I sputtered out my reply a bit too quickly for it to be believable. He laid back and put his hands behind his head. He was still smiling

"I could tell why. It gets pretty heated pretty quickly" I could feel my face heat up.

"you read it?!" I was surprised he would read it without asking me.

"well, yeah we were packing them up and I thought id read it some it was the only one that wasn't science fiction or horror or mystery. I thought it sounded interesting so I read it on my break. It was the most satisfying break I think I ever had" my face was on fire. "you didn't strike me as the type to read that kind of stuff"

"I normally don't. I got it at a yard sale before I realized what it was. I threw a random cover over it and put it on my shelf. I rarely ever picked it up" I was beginning to hear myself getting too defensive over it.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't even care if you were into that or not, it just surprised me was all" he bit his lip. He was thinking about something. I couldn't help but wonder what it was. "how did you know?" I didn't understand what he was asking.

"how did I know what?"

"how did you know you were into guys?" I was a bit taken back. I looked down at my feet. My yellow nails looked orange in the light, or lack of since the sun was setting.

"it was one of those things I just knew. I never really questioned it. I mean I refused to even act on it. then there was this guy. I had been friends with him for a long time and I asked him about it. he was one of those people that you were friends with, but didn't know why or how you even got to that point. Well, he was also one who was open to everything. And so he let me try out what I had suspected for too long in my life. We didn't do anything too triggering, and when I was sure I stopped. And I was too embarrassed to talk to him again, so I didn't" I looked back at him. He was staring at me. Like he understood. "why are you asking me this?"

"its complicated"

"I feel like I don't know anything about you, but you know everything about me"

"what do you want to know?" we played 300 questions. He answered everything I asked him. I felt like I knew him much better now.

"now back to the only question you didn't answer" he raised an eyebrow at me. "why did you ask me how I knew I was into guys?" he sighed.

"cause I like a guy, but I've never been into guys before" I felt my face flush.

"who is this guy?"

"is that really important?"

"no, but I'm curious" he stood up and stretched his arms above him.

"let me take a shower first. I'll tell you when I get out. Its pretty late after all" I nodded and picked up the plates. I took them to the kitchen and rinsed them off. I placed them in the dishwasher and walked back up to my room. I sat on my bed and started reading a science fiction book. After a few chapters, I felt weight on my bed. I placed the bookmark into the book and shut it.

"so are you going to-" I was silenced when lips came down on my own. My face was hot. I knew I was blushing. I looked around. I could see a purple blush. This was wrong. I needed to stop. I felt my hands going up to his face. I needed to push him off. I needed.. what did I need to do again? His hand was on my thigh. I was getting aroused. His lips moved with mine perfectly. My hands were under his shirt suddenly. How did they get there? I could feel his abs. I heard a whimpering noise. Did that come from me? His tongue slipped into my mouth cautiously. his other hand was on my other thigh. He pulled me into his lap. I felt his bulge under me. I could feel it moving under me. He moaned into my mouth. I pulled my mouth away from his. I was slowly regaining myself. "I- I have a vow" I could break it right? It was a vow to a god I didn't even believe in.

"do you want me to stop?" I looked at him. He looked concerned, rather than disappointed. I wanted to say no, but I also wanted to say yes. I could hear my dad's voice telling me I was a sinner. I could hear him telling me he hoped I died. I bit my lip and shook my head. "are you sure? Cause if you want me to I can"

"I want you to keep going. Its okay. It was only because of my dad that I had it" I put my hands at the base of his horns. He put his hands at my hips. "I'm not a Christian, so it doesn't matter" I massaged the base of his horns. His hands dug into my hips.

"if you want to stop. I want you to stop. Don't keep going for me" I nodded. He lifted my shirt up and took it off of me. He buried his face into my neck. he bit the skin gently. I moaned softly. I grabbed a hold of his shirt and took it off of him. He pushed me down, so he was on top. He pushed my legs up to his hips. I looked down to his crotch. His bulge looked huge. His face was next to mine. I could feel his tongue on my ear. I wrapped my legs around his waist. His bulge pressed against mine. He made a growling sound into my ear. I realized how close his fin was to my mouth. I leaned into his face slightly. I ran my tongue along the surprisingly smooth surface. I felt his hips grind harder into mine. I let out a squeak. He brought in a shaky breath. His hand was above my pants. He unbuttoned them and slid his hand into my pants. He caressed my bulge. I bit my lip and moaned into his ear. It was so wrong, but it felt so good. His fingers grazed my nook. I brought in a sharp breath. I heard a voice in my head. _More._ _You know you want more._ He shifted. He started pulling my pants off. When he got them off he started kissing me again. His tongue slipped into my mouth. My hands roamed down his chest to the waistband of his pants. I unbuttoned them. I refused to be the only naked one here. I put my feet on his hips. He broke the kiss. My knees were up at my chest. he looked down at me. I used my feet to push his pants down. His boxers, much like my own, came down with them. I was right about his bulge. It was huge. He kissed me again. His hands were on my hips again. I felt his bulge wrap around mine. I gasped at the feeling. I had never felt anything like this before. He broke the kiss again. "feel good?" I nodded. I was sure my whole face and neck was red. He pulled me on top of him. I was about the same height as him this way. "what about this?" his bulge unwrapped mine and went into my nook.

"ah, fuck!" I moaned into his neck. I bit down on his neck to quiet my moaning. I didn't want Karkat to come up here to find Cronus fucking me like this. I heard Cronus moan softly. Come to think of it, I was in control when I was in this position. I moved my hips slowly. He moaned a little louder. I let go of his neck and looked at his face. His cheeks were blushing purple. He was biting his lip. He was gorgeous. He nuzzled into my neck.

"faster Kankri.. please" my stomach turned in arousal at the way he said my name. I moved my hips faster. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him onto his back. He placed his hands on my hips. I moved my hips faster. He moaned a bit louder. He was trying to hold back. One of his hands stroked my bulge. It felt so good. I pushed my chin to my chest and moved faster. "fuuck Kan.. so.. good" I felt it happening.

"Cronus.. I'm about to.." then it happened. Everything went white. When things cleared up, my genetic material was all over his chest and stomach. He put his arms around me and carried me to the shower. I showered as normal. Cronus showered after me. I walked to my room and crawled into my bed. I remembered Cronus laying next to me before I fell asleep.

 _ **like I said awkward and unable to focus. i'll try again in another chapter. I wanted Kankri out of his normal character and so this was birthed.**_


	6. Chapter 6

I felt a heavy weight on my waist. It wasn't painful, however it was annoying me slightly. I rolled over and looked up at Cronus. He was sleeping soundly. I nuzzled into his chest. I realized it was light outside, and sat up slowly. I tried not to disturb him too much. I put on a some sweatpants and a t shirt and walked out of my room. I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. I looked at the stove. It was one in the afternoon. I ran a hand through my hair. I cant believe I slept so late. I opened the freezer and pulled a hot pocket out and placed it into the microwave. I looked at the schedule on the refrigerator. We didn't have work tonight. I looked at the thing Karkat left on the refrigerator. A parent teacher meeting? I looked at the time. In a few hours, at four. Right after school let out for him. I scanned the paper to find out which teacher we were going to be talking to. When I couldn't find a name I shrugged and opened the door of the refrigerator to grab myself a drink. The microwave beeped to let me know my hot pocket was finished. I shut the door and walked to the microwave and took my hot pocket out and started eating. The hot pocket burned the inside of my mouth, but I didn't care right now. I was too busy contemplating which teacher we may be talking to. I guess I could text Karkat and ask him, but I wasn't really looking forward to texting him. He always complains about the way I type. Not like his typing style is much better its like he's stuck in caps lock. I took a drink of my coke.

"hey, chief" I looked to the doorway to the kitchen and saw Cronus standing there. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts. I didn't think he would have anything like that in his wardrobe, but it was whatever.

"hey, Karkat has a parent teacher meeting later that I have to go to at four. Do you know what teacher I have to meet up with?"

"Karkat said it was all of them, and then the principal"

"all of them? What did he do?"

"dunno, but he was pretty sore about it" he walked to the cabinets and started making a peanut butter sandwich. "he yelled at me for the slightest shit yesterday. Even told me that I had burned the food"

"yeah I heard that, sorry about him I think hes having a hard time with his girlfriend"

"he has a girlfriend?"

"yeah they're not doing so great right now though, but at least father didn't beat him for being gay. It was more about his language, I've been trying to get him to cut back on that for years"

"I guess it didn't work?"

"quite the opposite actually, he cusses more than he used to. I guess as a defiance to our father, but it could have been a defiance towards me" Cronus sat across from me and started eating his sandwich. "then again he really cut back when I would butt in and get hit instead"

"so Karkat never got hit?"

"he did, but not near as much as I did, or as badly" I took another drink from my coke. "I learned basic first aid for such occasions. Like how to fix a broken nose and how to stop excessive bleeding" he nodded. "Karkat never was put in the hospital like I was, so I thought that everything was okay" he stood and took my trash and threw it away for me. "I didn't think that protecting him would potentially kill me" Cronus sat next to me and put an arm around me. I picked up my coke and walked to my room. I walked into my closet and started getting ready for that meeting. We switched all the information in Karkat's school file to me being his guardian and the address being switched here. The only thing they would have to talk about would be his behavior. And it would explain a lot when it came to his recent behavior at home. I pulled on a pair of pants and buttoned them. I looked at my reflection. I still had a bruise on my abdomen the size of my dad's boot. _So much for being a Christian. You cant even follow the book of timothy and not disown your children._ I rolled my eyes. _The only thing he followed was the old testament. Most of that was supposed to be thrown out the damned window._ I pulled on a black t shirt and then my red sweater over that. I looked at my reflection again. I shook my head and hung the sweater back up. It was still too soon. I pulled a red jacket off a different hanger and put it on. I fixed my hair and opened my closet door. As I walked out I placed my hand on the sweater for a moment. I smiled and shut the door. It was about that time already, how long had I been daydreaming? I walked down the stairs and into the foyer.

"Cronus I'm leaving if you want to go too" I opened the door. I turned around and saw Cronus struggling to put on a shirt and heading for the stairs. "if you fall I'm going to kick you!" he stopped and put on his shirt before going down the stairs to the door. I had a feeling the drive back from the school was going to be a long one.

 _ **Author's note: so this is the shortest chapter so far and it took awhile to upload apologies for those of you who were wanting to read it rather quickly. In reality i could have finished at the last chapter, but that's no fun.**_


	7. Chapter 7

We were escorted to a conference room. there were enough chairs in here for all the teachers Karkat has and then some for another student's teachers, assuming they didn't have a single common teacher. Cronus sat next to me. I figured Karkat would be brought in soon. Of course, he walked in soon after the thought crossed my mind. He sat by me and refused all communication. We sat in the room in silence for a good ten minutes before his other teachers started walking in and sitting around the long wooden table. The principal sat at the 'head' of the table staring straight down to the three of us.

"thank you for coming, Kankri. I called you in to talk about Karkat's recent behavioral changes" the principal was the same one as when I had graduated. She hated I wouldn't use the 'appropriate' etiquette for schools and call her Ms. Malmon. She was like three years older than me. I was calling her by her first name and I didn't care who knew.

"yes, Kim, he's been acting different at home as well. What has been going on here?"

"he and miss Pyrope have been arguing a lot, and for a recently split couple I get that, but it has been resulting in property destruction" she ran a hand through her long blonde hair. "one case being a broken desk. I'm safe to assume that the reason for this is that her mother is working on your case, is that correct?"

"its possible that it triggered him yes, however he's always been angry. Their breakup could have brought up feelings that made him feel unwanted. And then the fact that our father said that same thing as we left, it may have hurt him more than it normally would"

"and I know you two have been through a lot recently, I'm not asking for reimbursement for the damages done. I'm actually asking if temporary home schooling would be better for him"

"I would rather him deal with his problems here rather than hide from them at home. And I expect you'll take disciplinary actions if this persists" she raised an eyebrow.

"it's in his file that all issues be addressed to the parent or guardian"

"that was put in both his file and my own when I was enrolled here. And if you looked into that you would know it was an excuse for abuse. I still wish to be informed of any action taken, but now you get the fun of figuring out what to do with him. I'm not a parent and do not wish to be, so I will not be taking actions upon myself"

"wait" I looked at Karkat. "so you're telling me that you would rather them hit me than act like a parent?!"

"you know better than anybody that I'm not cut out for parenting, and I'm your brother I'm not going to bend you over my knee and spank you that's just disgusting, and you're seventeen you can handle a little bit of ISS and if you end up liking that you can go to that alternative school right down the street. You know the one that doesn't let out until 4:30, but begins at 6 in the morning" he was staring at me with his mouth open. He almost looked like a helpless child who was just told their pet didn't run away it just died. "but that won't be a problem if you act right and quit being a brat. Terezi is your ex I get that, but is she really worth all of this trouble?" Karkat looked down at his hands. He nodded slightly. "now that that's settled, what's next on the agenda? Or is that all?" Kim looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"as far as I know that's all.. unless his teachers have anything to say" I looked around at the unfamiliar group of teachers. They shuffled through their notes and one spoke up.

"well, I feel like Karkat needs some tutoring in my class" I raised an eyebrow he sounded familiar, but I couldn't place who he was.

"what class would that be?"

"United States History" I nodded. I hated U.S. History. It was boring and I didn't need to know it.

"yes, well I'll be sure to get on that"

"I don't want him in my class anymore" I looked over at an older woman. It looked like she had math papers in front of her. "he's a great student, but he's a danger to my other students and I'm much too old to worry about that" I could empathize with her. She looked to be close to 60 years old. If Karkat was destroying things out of anger, I could understand her concern. Especially if another kid started teasing him.

"okay, so we need to get him a new teacher or put him in a computer course. Am I correct?" she nodded. "well, what about putting him in a computer course for it? if he breaks that he can get a job and pay for it" Kim smiled and bit her lip. As a senior, I was always getting called into her office. Mostly because most people would talk around me and I knew the latest gossip and she wanted to know what was new in the school, but I had assumed she liked me. The way she was looking at me now only made me wonder about it more. It really doesn't surprise me that she would call a meeting over something so menial like a behavior issue if she did have a thing for me.

A few teachers started getting up and leaving as they finished expressing their concerns. Eventually it was just us and Kim. She asked Karkat a few more questions about his situation with Terezi, before he got up and absconded out of there.

"Cronus could you take him to the car I'll be right behind you" he nodded and stood, swiping the car keys from in front of me. He shut the door behind him. I wished he wouldn't have done that. "is there anything else we needed to talk about?"

"not really, but I did ant to talk to you some more about some other things"

"such as?"

"well, are you hurt too bad?"

"what do you mean?"

"oh please you act like my sister wasn't your nurse"

"Amelia is your sister?"

"didn't you know?" she looked shocked

"no, she never said anything about having a sister"

"so, Cronus is cute" she changed the subject. "I heard you two were a thing"

"I honestly don't know what Cronus and I are. All I know is he likes me"

"do you like him?"

"well, I trust him. If I said I didn't like him I would be lying"

"Kanny, come on, you know what I mean"

"it's Kankri, and yes I know what you're asking, and I have no idea how I feel about him from THAT standpoint. He's attractive, and he's very similar to a drug, but I don't know how I feel about him in the emotional sense"

"have you two boinked?"

"what?"

"have you and him had sex?"

"is that really your business?"

"of course not, but you know I love the latest gossip with friends!" she stood up and sat at the corner closest to me.

"since when did we become friends?"

"since your senior year here. It kind of makes me sad that you wont accept any follow or friend requests on social media regarding me"

"you know why I wont right?"

"why?"

"because we aren't friends. You asked me questions and I would answer them"

"even if that were true, you could at least be civil and accept me on Instagram and facebook"

"or not" I started to stand up and she pushed me back down in the chair. "please do not touch me again"

"back to what I was saying, Cronus didn't take his eyes off you at all the time you two were in here" I could feel my face warming up.

"who cares? He's a friend and a coworker helping me out"

"Kankri do you know anything about him? Like, at all?"

"I only know what he told me. This isn't your business anyways" I went to stand again and she pushed me down in the chair again. "don't touch me, Kim"

"calm down, I'm only trying to talk to you and I wont allow you to get up and leave while I'm talking"

"well I need to leave so it would be nice if you would hurry up and finish" she gave me a disappointed look. She leaned forward and put a hand on the arm of the chair I was sitting in. her face was close to mine and I could feel the air coming out of her nostrils as she breathed. Even if I was straight, this would be an uncomfortable situation. She leaned closer to me and I turned my head away from her. "what do you want, Kim?"

"you," I could hear the smile in her voice. I don't think she realized she just said the most cliché thing ever.

"I'm gay, Kim. Just stop" she didn't seem to care that I just told her to stop. She pushed some of my hair behind my ear. "Kim, stop" she ran her tongue over my ear. I brought my hand up and shoved her off of me. I stood up and sprinted down the hallway and out of the building. I ran to the car and shut myself into the passenger side. I reached for my turtleneck collar only to realize I didn't wear my sweater. I couldn't hide. I had to do something. I took off my jacket and flung it over my head. I could hear Karkat laughing and teasing me, and I felt the car go into drive and Cronus drive us home.


	8. Chapter 8

I sat in my closet huddled under a rack of clothing. Since it was colour coordinated I knew what colours I was sitting under. I could still feel her tongue across my ear. I had showered at least twice. I felt sick and I couldn't stop crying. I buried myself deeper into the blue shirts. I bit my lip. Why would she do that to me? I mean, I knew she found me attractive, but even after I told her I was gay?

There was a knock on my closet door. Unlikely it was Karkat, but sometimes he was worried about me so it wouldn't surprise me if it was him. The door opened slowly and I saw small grey and red feet walk around in my closet. He knew I surrounded myself in the colours that represented my mood the most. I rarely sat under the blue ones so when Karkat found me, it was in the last place he would have bothered to look.

"gog fucking damn it what the actual fuck happened?" he was trying to be nice, but all I could register was the feeling of her tongue on my ear. I drug my nails into my ear. "Kankri, you have to talk to me about this." He placed his hand on my shoulder. I slapped it away and continued to claw at my ear. Karkat grabbed my hand and pulled it away from my ear and pinned it above my head. I shoved him as hard as I could with my free hand and started clawing at my ear again. I could feel my blood running down my hand and to my elbow. "Kankri?" I ignored him. "you need to stop. Cronus and I are worried"

"like I fucking care" I bit my lip. I could taste my own blood. I knew back on our old planet I would have been culled for my blood's colour. Right now, however I didn't care.

"Kankri.."

"get the fuck out of my closet." I dug my nails into my ear harder.

"but.. Kankri.."

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY CLOSET YOU FUCKING PEST" I looked down to where he had landed from me pushing him. His eyes were wide. He almost looked scared of me. _Almost._ Tears welled up into his eyes and he got up and left me to claw at my ear in peace, but first he said something I never wanted to hear him say.

"you're becoming more like Dad everyday" he shut the door. I looked down at my bloody hand. I could feel fresh blood trickling down my jaw and neck. some blood was dry around my ear and temple. Tears started falling down my face again. I knew I deserved what he had said, but it still hurt. I buried my face into my knees. There was another knock at the door. This time I knew for a fact that it was Cronus. He walked over to where I was and opened the clothes.

"hey, chief, what happened?"

"nothing just leave me alone" I brought my hand up to my ear again. Cronus grabbed it and pinned it above me and shoved me against the wall.

"after all the shit you went through with your dad I vowed to never do anything like this, but you had NO RIGHT to treat Karkat like you did. He was worried about you. The little brat was crying when he came downstairs." His hand tightened around my wrist. He was hurting me, but I refused to cry or whimper. I brought my free hand up to push him off, before he grabbed it the same way. "I had to force him to tell me anything. I didn't even have to hold him down." I could feel circulation cutting off. "what happened to you when you were alone with her?"

"nothing" he slid my hands higher above my head. It was painful. I looked into his eyes. He was concerned. He didn't want to do this anymore than I wanted to hurt Karkat.

"you're lying" he leaned in. "I hate doing this to you, you know? I really do. Just tell me and I swear I will stop"

"that's what my dad would tell me"

"Kan, do you really see me as your father? Because if so, you could move back in with him" tears rolled down my face. I didn't want to tell him. It was embarrassing. It was vile. I hated what she had done. "I swear Kankri" he loosened his grip on me.

"she.." I looked into his eyes. "she came onto me. I told her I was gay, but she didn't care. And then she.." he let go of one of my hands.

"its okay, babe."

"she licked my ear.. I told her to stop touching me, but she wouldn't.." he raised an eyebrow at me.

"is that all?" I nodded at him and he released my other hand. He stepped back and sat on my closet floor. He looked like he was thinking really hard about something. I slid off the shelf that was supposed to be for shoes and walked over to him and grabbed his hand. He looked up at me. I knelt down and placed his hand on my bloody ear. His eyes widened. "did I do that?" I shook my head. "did you do this?" I felt his fingers against my ear. They pressed into the flesh a little. I nodded. His brows furrowed together and he pulled me into his lap and held me. It was like cuddling, but with more concern behind it. My eyes started getting heavy. It had been a long day and I was ready for a nap. I felt Cronus lean back. I opened my eyes and sat up some. He took off his shirt and rolled onto his side moving me to the floor gently. He bundled the shirt up and sat it next to his face. I laid down next to him, being sure to put the shirt under my bloody ear. He smiled and put an arm around my waist. I shoved myself against him and fell asleep against him.

 ** _author's note: so, this has been a long time coming, and i apologize for it being SO late, but i have been busy and unmotivated as all hell, so i apologize, also at the beginning of this chapter i had a block and i just figured out how to get past it without deleting the previous chapter :0 also, i hate what i had to have done to poor karkat. what i have lanned calls for it ;-;_**


	9. Chapter 9

I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face. It was annoying so I rolled over, only to have the sun shining on my still closed eyelids. I rolled back to my previous position and opened my eyes. I have no idea how I got to my bed. I pulled the covers back and sat up. I felt a little confused. I pushed some hair behind my ear. Pain shot through my ear and buried itself deep within my skull. I forgot about what I had done. I never self harmed before. On accident or on purpose. I could hear talking downstairs. I heard a female's voice and a laugh I could have never forgotten even if I tried or wanted to. My stomach growled and I swallowed my pride and started the walk downstairs. I was still in my clothes from the night before and normally I would shower before even leaving my room, but I felt so hungry and my curiosity was getting the better of me.

"but don't you think he is _sooo_ cute"

"well who in their right mind wouldn't?"

"that's gross you guys"

"see what I mean?"

more laughter. I walked around the corner into the kitchen. I was faced ith three people and it made me feel rather uncomfortable to be out here unshowered and in the same clothes as the day before.

"good afternoon, chief" I looked from Cronus to Karkat to Jane. I was handed a plate with a cupcake on it. I wasn't a fan of sweets but only Karkat really knew this so I bit into it. I could feel Karkat glaring at me. I looked back to him.

"sorry.. what I did was uncalled for and it was wrong to do something like that to you" he acknowledged me with a nod. I knew he wouldn't forgive me easily. I was the only one he trusted for so long and then suddenly I broke that trusting bond with him. "so who's cute?" everyone looked at each other before Karkat left the room. I could hear music that sounded like it would be played at a night club. I heard his door open and shut.

"well, Kankri.." I looked at Cronus. "how about you sit down for a moment?"

I took a seat on a bar stool at the island.

"Kankri you know my ex husband right?" I looked at Jane

"yeah I know him"

"well his new boyfriend has a son"

"and?"

"and he's cute"

"that's weird, how old is he?"

"oh, you know, Karkat's age" realization set in to my mind. I got up and walked to Karkat's room.

"Jane, I don't think you have to finish now" I stopped outside Karkat's room. I didn't hear any talking. All I could hear was the club music. I opened the door and Karkat jumped out of a blond boy's lap. He was blushing furiously. I slammed the door shut and walked back to the kitchen. I shoved the rest of the cupcake in my mouth and grabbed a glass of milk. Why didn't I know Karkat's sexuality? We used to tell each other everything. I swallowed the cupcake and drank some milk behind it. I put the glass in the dishwasher and went back upstairs. I heard a door downstairs slam shut. I sat on my bed and pulled my laptop into my lap and started on my homework. My bedroom door swung open abruptly. I knew it was Karkat so I kept looking at the screen and typing away on my English paper that was due tomorrow.

"what the fuck is wrong with you?" I shrugged. Not answering seemed to make him angrier. I had to get my homework done. "haven't you ever fucking heard of knocking, asshole?"

"can you, for once, watch your language?" I also had accidentally typed that. I glared at the screen before deleting that line. I put my laptop to the side. "what do you want, I have to get my homework done"

"what is wrong with you?"

"oh I dunno maybe I have an ungrateful little brother who compares me to his abusive father, but for some reason would still rather live with me instead. Even though, apparently I'm just as bad?"

"no… you're not" he lowered his voice. It seemed I had struck a nerve with him.

"I'm not? Cause last night you told me, and I'm quoting this: 'you're becoming more like Dad everyday' now am I wrong? I mean I kinda mutilated my ear, but I'm pretty sure that's what you said"

"I remember that, yes"

"now if I'm becoming more like him everyday, why live with someone similar hen you could live with the real thing? I could call my lawyer and tell her that I no longer can take custody of you" I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"no! stop! Okay I get it! I'm sorry"

"no you aren't"

"yes, Kankri, I am"

"no you are not. You know how I know?" he was silent. "because if you were sorry or if you knew you would regret it, you wouldn't have said it"

"Kankri.. please don't send me back to him"

"then sit in the living room with your friend, or whatever he is and keep your public displays to a minimum. When he leaves, I want you to do the dishes. If I see you in his lap or you don't do the dishes I will not hesitate to call madam Redglare and arrange for you to go back to living with our mundane father. Do I make myself clear?"

"crystal" he turned and walked out of my room. finally I could focus on my English homework without much more disturbance from him.


	10. Chapter 10

I looked at the time on my laptop and submitted my English essay. It was about time to start getting ready for work. I went to my closet and pulled out a black tank top and a pair of jeans. I debated on showering, but knowing how work was going to go, there wouldn't be a point to it. I stripped off my clothes and started pulling on my clothes for work.

"hey, Kankri, did I leave my jacket in here?" I froze at Cronus's words followed by the door to my bedroom opening. "oh, sorry! I didn't know you were changing"

"its still in my closet I think" I bit down on my lip. "you can go ahead and get it"

"okay" I clutched my shirt to my chest as he walked to my closet and picked his jacket up from the floor. He walked back over to me, placing his hands on each of my shoulders. "you okay?"

"w-why wouldn't I be?"

"you just seem off today. And you walked in on your brother in his boyfriend's lap"

"don't remind me of that.." I tried not to picture it and failed miserably. "I'm fine. Are you almost read for work?" his hands slipped from my shoulders to my arms.

"yeah I'll be waiting for you downstairs"

I quickly got ready, so we could stop somewhere for dinner before work. I opened my bedroom door and heard Karkat talking to Cronus.

"he wants to take me to the mall, he said we'll be meeting up with a few of his friends"

"listen, Kat, I get you want to go, but you gotta ask Kankri"

"he's going to tell me no"

"you don't know that"

"after what he saw, yeah I do"

"well, I'm sayin' no because I can't tell you if you can without talkin' to him first. Which, I ain't doin' because its not my place to ask him"

"you're so fucking helpful"

"just ask him, chief, you got this"

I stepped out of my room and descended the stairs. "you ready, Cronus?"

He nodded. And placed his hand on the doorknob.

"hey, Kankri?"

"what is it Karkat?"

"can I go to the mall with some friends?"

"who?"

"Kanaya, Rose, John, and Dave"

"Kanaya, you say?" he nodded. "sure," I pulled out some money and handed it to him. "this is for food. I want a receipt and the change back. If you want to get something else, let me know beforehand"

"alright"

"and for the love of all that is good, let me know if you guys get drunk at a party this time, I'd rather not have to identify corpses" he looked down.

"you wont have to do that again, I promise"

"I better not, now we're off, behave and stay out of trouble, for once" Cronus opened the front door and we walked out of the house, Karkat shutting the door behind us.

"where do you want to eat tonight?"

"how about Whataburger?"

"sounds good to me"

We pulled up into the driveway. All the lights in the house were off, and I had no missed calls or texts from Karkat. It was almost two in the morning, the malls were closed and he was supposed to let me know when he left the mall to do something else.

"do you have any missed calls from him?"

"no I don't have any and he hasn't texted me all night"

"alright hold on before you jump to conclusions" he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. I looked out at the house-apartment we were renting.

"hey Eri, sorry its so late" a pause "lil bro, I cant hear you could you move outside or at least away from the music" a long pause. Cronus looked at me and smiled, sending butterflies fluttering from my chest to my stomach. "that's much better thank you" I could hear someone on the other line. "I need to ask you, have you seen Karkat at any of the parties you've been to tonight?" I heard a somewhat frustrated reply, granted I couldn't make out a word of it, the voice calmed. Cronus narrowed his eyes and put the car into reverse "thanks bro. I'll get you a pack we're on our way there now" he pulled out of the driveway as he hung up the phone.

"I got to stop by a convenience store then we're gonna go to a party" he put the car into drive. That little brat was in big fucking trouble.

 _ **Authors note: holy shhhht i am so sorry this took so long.. ive been so busy but ill be uploading another chapter tonight after i try to catch up on my Davekat fic (also im sorry for any mistakes my laptop is messing up so much so some keys dont always work)**_


	11. Chapter 11

We pulled up at a house. Scratch that it looked more like a mansion. There were teenagers scattered about the yard. Trolls and humans intermingling, dancing, and drinking. A tall seadweller walked up to our car as we parked. He was dressed rather.. over-the-top to put it lightly. He wore a cape and a scarf. Thick glasses sat on his face and he was wearing many purple glowstick necklaces and bracelets. I could barely make out the purple in his hair, due to the darkness outside, but the glowsticks helped. We got out of the vehicle.

"hey, captain, where's your moirail?"

"you act like I would know, he ran off with his matesprit about 30 minutes ago. Dave's car is still here though, so theres that" he looked back at the mansion. "I'd try the kitchen then the dance floor. Dave is the DJ tonight so if theyre not there, try the bathrooms. I know Karkat was getting shitfaced, or trying to, that is. Bedrooms I'd check last, Dave isn't the kind of guy to take advantage of someone" the teenager in front of us stuck a hand out at Cronus. Cronus fished in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and put them in his brother's extended hand. "thanks"

"don't mention it. especially to mom and dad, otherwise we'll have a big problem."

"please, have I ever gotten you in that much trouble with them before?"

"whatever" Cronus walked up the pathway to the house and entered through the side door leading diretly into the kitchen. "do you want on my shoulders to see better?"

"that sounds inappropriate"

"alright I'm gonna grab a cup real fast"

"why?"

"takes a drunk to find a drunk"

"ill drink it then"

"what?"

"you heard me. If that's the case a drunk Vantas can find a drunk Vantas faster than a drunk Ampora" he chukled.

"alright, babe, lets get you shitfaced" he handed me a cup of a blue liquid. I smelled it, the strong scent of the alcohol making my nose crunch up. If I learned anything from watching my father for all those years, the faster you drink it, the faster you get drunk. I brought the lip of the up to my partly open mouth. I tipped the glass upright to chug the liquid before my taste buds could force it back up. It tasted surprisingly well and I had Cronus fetch me another 3 cups before I stumbled my way out of the kitchen. I know I was only buzzed, but on the brink of drunk. I needed to keep my mind clear enough to find him.

I walked over to the DJ equipment. There was another cup half emptied of the blue liquid I had drunk. I put my hand around it. The cup and alcoholic beverage was warm. I set the drink back down and allowed my eyes to roam over the dance floor, or living room I should say. The bass to the music was beating through my body. It made me want to move. I scanned the teens dancing, grinding against each other. I moved along the edge of the room. Cronus was close by me. We walked into the rooms downstairs without finding them. My curiosity peaked, I turned to Cronus. He looked down at me.

"is there a basement?" I had to yell above the music. He nodded and led me to the door leading into the basement. We walked down the stairs. I could smell the drugs and we weren't even halfway down into the basement. I came down the stairs a bit faster. I looked over at the couch. Smoke had filled the room, despite the windows that were open. I flipped a switch that turned on the ceiling fan.

"woah, that was like, magic" there was a gravelly voice.

"it wasn't magic you dumbass, I bet someone just fucking caught us" I knew that was Karkat.

"don't be so paranoid, boo. Everyone here knows whats going on down here" that had to be Dave.

"shit, man, are they magic?" the voice I didn't know who it belonged to.

"no Gamzee, shit"

"Karkat, calm down, panicking on this shit isn't good"

"yeah, bro, listen to your matesprit. Just go with the motherfuckin' flow"

I stepped closer to the couch. I was right above them.

"yo, Karbro, I didn't know you could do that" Gamzee had eyes wide.

"do what?" I placed my hands on his shoulders.

"summon your worst nightmare" I said in the most menacing voice possible. Karkat screamed and jumped off the couch to face me.

"what the fuck Kankri?"

"we're leaving" Karkat shook his head.

"you're leaving. I'm staying"

I crossed my arms. "is that so? I'll see what Redglare has to say about that." I pulled out my phone. Karkat made no move to stop me. I thought a moment. "better yet.." I turned to Cronus "grab him why don't you? We'll see what the police have to say about him being under the influence of drugs and alcohol at only 17" Cronus nodded and hopped over the couch towards Karkat.

"you won't take me to them, Kankri, not when you yourself are drunk under the age of 21"

"that's why they'll put me as an unfit guardian and put you back into our father's custody or put you in a foster home"

"Jesus fuck, Kankri, are you hearing yourself?"

"yes, I am. Its all a matter of whether you want to comply and us just go home, or by force and go to the police station"

"fine, take me home then" he walked past Cronus, who followed behind him.

Karkat followed me to the car, Cronus opened up the back driver's side door. Karkat slid in after a couple moments and a look back at his moirail, who shrugged at him. Cronus slammed the door behind him and piled in behind the steering wheel. I sent Cronus a text on my phone. After his phone went off he raised an eyebrow. He read the message and smiled at me, nodding his approval and leaving the property. We drove aimlessly, until Karkat fell asleep in the backseat. We pulled up at the police station and Cronus carried Karkat inside.

About 15 minutes later, Cronus walked out to the car.

"how did it go?" I asked genuinely curious.

"threw a fit, that's for sure. They're gonna keep him in holding for a couple days"

"maybe he'll learn his lesson"

"he's stubborn as all hell, I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to try"

"lets go home"


End file.
